Here is the last part of our mini series on Viktoria’s and Felix’ initiative “One Social Europe”. In their van, they crossed 21 European countries and visited social projects. In part three of their exclusive interview for Spotlight Europe, the two young Germans speak about surprises, challenges and lessons learnt in six months.

What surprised you most during your trip?
Felix: The hospitality we received nearly everywhere! Let me give you an example: On our first day of the trip we’ve been invited to the house of our first host. She went to sleep on the couch and somehow “forced” us to go and sleep in her bed. And the next day she invited us to a family dinner at her aunt’s house. It was the most fantastic start you could have imagined for our trip.
Viktoria: I think it was myself, who surprised me the most. At the beginning of the tour I’ve been extremely nervous, but after a while I realized, this was simply not necessary. I learned to face challenges and keep calm in difficult situations.

What were the biggest challenges you had to face?
Viktoria: Well, the car….
Felix: Yes! We’ve been to the garage a few times. I think it was five times during six months.
Viktoria: Everything just turned out so well, that there were not really big problems we had to face. Of course there were some learnings about living the moment and take it as it is. But we never had the feeling of being absolutely overwhelmed by a situation.

If you had to pick one particular social project to present, which one would you choose?

Viktoria: This is one of the most difficult questions you could ask! It’s the same with “Which was your favourite country?” Because there is not only one answer. I have been deeply touched by the animal welfare projects, because this is something which is very close to my heart. And of those I think it would be either the Donkey Sanctuary in Ireland or the Fundacja “Pod Psia Gwiazda” in Poland.
Felix: I think there is not one to point out. They all have a very important reason to be there. All their work is necessary for the community they are set in.

 What is the most important lesson you have learned about Europe?
Felix: Freedom is not only a word! Freedom is something that is lived within Europe. Here you find humanity and you can realize how important it is to get involved in campaigning for each other.
Viktoria: Europe is simply a wonderful continent. A place of interesting cultures, unbelievable socially engaged people and there is no other place in the world, where I would have loved to spent these six months, than Europe!

What would you say to other young Europeans who are planning a similar adventure?
Viktoria: Just do it! And that’s it.

Thanks for the interview, Viktoria and Felix! It’s been a pleasure to follow you on your adventures.

About the interview partners:

Viktoria (25) and Felix (26) are inspired by the idea of Europe: peaceful coexistence of different countries and cultures, the cooperation of the European countries, the freedom to travel – to experience Europe as a social continent.

With the project ‘One Social Europe’, their goal was to inform how Europeans are involved in social or non-profit projects and how they bring their country, their society or Europe further – on the way to become one social europe.

Having finished their studies, Viktoria and Felix decided to start an adventure: In a 6-month trip they wanted to visit all 26 navigable countries of the European Union with their van. During this period, they presented different social or charitable projects on their website and via their facebook page. Spotlight Europe is happy to present an exclusive interview with Viktoria and Felix about their project ‘One Social Europe’, and congratulates them on their adventurous and social spirit.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves please.
Felix: Hi, I’m Felix. I’m 26 and for the past years I’ve been living in Cologne. I studied Eventmanagement and I am working on different projects round the world.
Viktoria: I’m Viktoria, 25, and I came to Cologne for my studies, as well. I’m a freelance cultural educator and last year, Felix and me both finished our studies . We decided not to start working directly, but to do a big trip through Europe. We started the project “one social europe” and are very proud to present it to Spotlight Europe today!

Can you briefly describe your project One Social Europe?
Felix: The idea was quite easy: in a 6-month trip, we wanted to visit all 26 navigable countries of the European Union. During these 6 months, we wanted to present different social and charitable projects all around europe.
Viktoria: We wrote a blog on our website and got in contact with our followers via Facebook, as well. In the end, not everything turned out, as we planned it, but still we are happy how the project developed.

How was the idea of One Social Europe born?
Viktoria: The very first idea was to have a time-out after our studies. But soon we realized that we wished to have some more value in this time. We did not only want to travel, but get in contact with the locals.
Felix: As the idea of Europe was inspiring us, we mixed this inspiration with our joy for travelling and our long-term social commitment in a Catholic Youth Organization: and one social europe was born.
Viktoria: Our goal was to inform, how Europeans are involved in several social projects. We wanted to find out, what motivates them and what kind of projects are spread throughout europe to form one social continent, which means to form one social europe.

What was your motivation to drive through Europe in a van?
Felix: Freedom and being indepent.
Viktoria: Yes, and to be able to get as close to the locals as possible.
Felix: The van we used, was often the first thing we talked about with other people, because most people connect these old cars with freedom – and we did so, too.

How much preparation did you need in advance?
Felix: Not much.
Viktoria: In fact we didn’t have the time for a long-term preparation. We decided around February to do the trip and started at the 2nd of August. And Felix went to Brasil for three months in this time.
Felix: So we needed a good schedule and a lot of help from friends and family.What about logistics?

Was your trip prearranged or rather spontaneous?
Viktoria: Rather spontaneous!
Felix: We had an idea about the route and we prebooked some ferrys. But we had to change these bookings after the first problems with the van.
Viktoria: And in the end, we didn’t take any of the pre-booked ferrys.
Felix: Even the route changed. For example we didn’t make it to Greece and some other countries.

Thanks for the interview, Viktoria and Felix! We will present one of your projects in more details next week, and the interview will be continued as well! If you cannot wait, you can already have a look at their website: www.one-social-europe.com.

About the interview partners:

Viktoria (25) and Felix (26) are inspired by the idea of Europe: peaceful coexistence of different countries and cultures, the cooperation of the European countries, the freedom to travel – to experience Europe as a social continent.

With the project ‘One Social Europe’, their goal was to inform how Europeans are involved in social or non-profit projects and how they bring their country, their society or Europe further – on the way to become one social europe.